Unenviable Crossroads
by Asa Turney
Summary: A forbidden ritual can sever the tie between two cold hearts. What kind of ritual can bridge the gap between two hot heads?
1. 01: The Bridge People No Longer Cross

**#01: The Bridge People No Longer Cross**

* * *

– "It's so late... I'm getting sleepy."

The heavy-eyed college student covered an exaggerated yawn with the palm of her hand.

Her companion in black tilted her head toward the star-studded night sky.

– "2:16 and 42 seconds. Come on, Merry, we've been out later than this before!"

Renko Usami and Maribel Hearn (Merry) had embarked on yet another Secret Sealing Club investigation along the fringes of Kyoto. Their feet were presently planted on a rickety bridge, once a well-traveled crossroads by people of ancient days, long since out of service.

– "I know. I was sleepy then, too."

– "It can't be helped. The hours of the ox are between 1 o'clock and 3. According to my research, the greatest activity happens now."

Lagging behind, Merry lifted the edges of her violet dress to take careful steps across the splintered planks. However, she was interrupted by a rustling sound coming from her left.

– "Oh my. What is this little bird doing out so long after nightfall?"

Renko turned around to see the commotion. Her partner was gazing with concern at the side rails of the bridge. Stuck in the crooked woodwork, a small sparrow let out a mournful chirp.

– "Poor thing! Let's help it get free."

With a simple nudge of the fencing, they created just enough space for the bird to wriggle free. They watched it flap its wings and begin to fly, taking off in the same direction as the girls were heading.

– "There it goes."

– "Too bad. No thank-you present this time."

She recalled the classic folk tale of the Tongue-Cut Sparrow, wherein an old man showed kindness to a bird that his wife had abused. Upon parting, he was allowed to choose a reward.

– "If it offered one, would you choose the large box or the small box?"

– "The small one."

– "How humble of you."

– "Well, to take the large box, you'd have to be not only greedy but also not very smart. Something can have high volume but low mass. Moreover, something can have high mass but low value."

– "Good answer. A setup like that is a clear test any way you look at it."

– "See, I'm not as dense as I look. Still, while meeting a youkai bird would be a reward in itself, it sure would be nice to find a rare item inside the box."

– "Perhaps it could lay a cowrie shell for you? No, that would have to be a swallow."

Feeling proud of their good deed, the two continued their journey to the end of the bridge and into a quiet neighborhood, across two blocks of paved street. The area was surprisingly urban, but clearly deserted. A silent wind blew specks of dust across the beams of streetlights.

At last they arrived at their destination in front of a rusty iron gate.

– "Here we are."

– "So this is the Hashihime Shrine."

Merry, the club member whose senses were more attuned to spiritual phenomena, could not perceive anything particularly powerful about the place - yet.

– "This shrine used to be dedicated to the bridge princess of Uji, who was consumed by jealousy and turned herself into a demon to get revenge."

– "I feel sorry for her, but that's an awfully extreme way to hold a grudge."

– "Right? You would think she understands the concept of 'water under the bridge.'"

– "Anyway, Renko, you told me you've already been here alone before. Why do you think today will be different?"

– "I don't know. Something interesting always happens when you're around, Merry!"

– "Interesting, huh..."

After an incident so interesting that it had left Merry recovering in a sanatorium, she never knew what to expect. Tonight's excursion was only intended to collect information, but still a hint of anxiety rose in her throat.

Renko straightened her hat with one hand and extended the other to her partner.

– "Shall we?"

The gate creaked open, and the two maidens made their entrance.


	2. 02: Green-Eyed Jealousy

**#02: Green-Eyed Jealousy**

* * *

The meager block of shrine ground could have been no wider than a festival stall. Very little was left under the roof of the altar but a worn-down offering box. Renko excitedly approached.

– "Ah, could that be my small box?"

– "Are you really going to pry that open?"

– "...It's empty."

– "A tragic plot twist."

– "Well, it doesn't look like anyone comes to visit anymore. Except the birds that live in this tree."

Beside the altar stood a large red cedar tree with sprawling branches. The texture of the bark appeared somewhat unnatural. Its thick trunk was littered with dozens of small holes, haphazardly arranged but of uniform size.

– "What a spooky home. I think I'd have rather stayed stuck on the bridge if I were that one."

– "More importantly, I wonder what's been making these holes..."

The two remained attached to each other's sides as they began their investigation. Compared to even directly outside, the ambience within the space of the shrine was very different. The close quarters encouraged a claustrophobic mood and multiplied the shadows.

Merry suddenly jerked her head.

From somewhere in the distance, a sharp sound rang out in her ears.

– "Renko, did you hear that?"

– "What? I don't hear anything."

It rang out once again, subtly louder.

– "It's the sound of metal. Like a hammer pounding against a nail."

– "Where could it be coming from? There's no one here, right?"

They held their breaths and listened. The noise continued in a pattern - slow, rhythmic, ritual. The volume increased with each hit.

Merry instinctively broke away from Renko's hand to shield her ears.

– "It's getting so loud. If this keeps up, it's going to give me a headache."

– "..."

Renko had no doubt of her words, but as much as she strained she was unable to make out any such pounding. She stood still, her fists clenching at her sides.

 _Frustrating... If it's happening, why can't I hear it too?_

Merry meanwhile stared, bewildered, at her oblivious partner.

 _Why can't she hear it? Why is it only me?_

At this moment, a barrier split open between them.

The gap was matterless, of indefinable shape, with a vague light shining through. Certain eyes might be able to make out a vague figure in the light, as in a blot of spilled ink. The surrounding atmosphere grew hot and humid, as if the thick air from the other side was pouring through. Overcome with fear, Merry mumbled out her words.

– "I see it... a gap in the boundary. I think she can see us too."

– "Where? Show me..."

She couldn't bring herself to lift a finger to point, and hardly thought it would make a difference. It was now nowhere and everywhere.

The air slowly coated the two in uncomfortable feelings, inside and out.

 _Merry always gets to see things._

 _Renko always has it easy._

– "How..."

The harsh noise was still steadily ringing. Unlike Renko, Merry had no choice but to hear, just as she had no choice but to see the things she saw. Ironically, her partner's eyes always seemed to shine with new dreams, while hers had to deal with a difficult reality. Being pulled exhaustedly along, she wondered, how could someone else manage to maintain that boundless energy?

– "Why...?"

Renko felt a pang in the pit of her stomach. When she was with Merry, they came so close to answers, but they were still so far. Sometimes it felt as if her presence added nothing in comparison, and in her place could have well been anyone else. Instead of merely counting the hours as they ticked away, she wondered, why was someone else born into such an exciting world?

– "Nngh..."

Merry was desperately clutching at her head, simultaneously trying to trap something in and drive something out.

 _But... it's not really fair of me to be thinking this now, is it? She looks like she's in pain...!_

 _What am I thinking, at a time like this? It isn't her fault..._

The first girl's legs began to tremble, threatening to give out under her, forcing the other out of her paralysis.

– "Merry!"

Renko dashed toward her and threw her arms around her shoulders, breaking her fall just before her knees collapsed on the dry grass.

– "..."

– "..."

Abruptly, there was silence. The air returned to normal. The gap in the boundary disappeared.

The two girls rested, forehead to forehead, waiting for each of their hearts to stop racing.

– "Ah... It's over."

Renko, remembering her role, took a deep breath and lifted her head skyward.

– "3 o'clock sharp."


	3. 03: Energy Daybreak - Future Dream

**#03: Energy Daybreak ~ Future Dream**

* * *

The two girls gathered themselves and exited the premises, shutting the gate behind them. No trains would be running for another hour, so there was no use in hurrying their walk back to the station. They were stuck wandering until the morning sun broke.

No one would ever know what transpired that night, if anything did at all. As recorded in the club activity log, the only evidence left behind was a single extra hole in the trunk of the old tree.

During their return trip across the bridge, the girl whose black clothes blended into the night was rambling all manner of commentary and theories about the shrine. Merry listened, though her face was downturned with guilt.

– "...and the biggest thing I wanted to say was-"

– "?"

She was snapped out of her daze, as Renko stopped herself mid-sentence and clapped her hands together in a flamboyant yet sincere display of humility.

– "Merry... I'm really sorry."

– "Huh? I'm the one who should be sorry. I was having horrible thoughts back there."

– "Me too. I don't know what came over me. I should have been focused on helping you sooner."

– "I can guess what happened. Our emotions were being manipulated."

– "Of course... That's what this sort of youkai do, isn't it? How unpleasant."

It would be easier, Merry considered, to leave it at that. However, she couldn't manage to stop thinking about it. Spirits were able to project their own feelings and intensify others', bringing out the worst in people. But it was difficult to build upon something without any foundation at all. In the dreamer's mind, allowing those emotions of resentment to take life was a sin in itself.

Merry whispered the confession into her chest.

– "What if... those feelings are somewhat true?"

– "Hm? So what if they are?"

– "Eh?"

She was taken aback by the quickness of the reply.

– "Jealousy... and fear. Is that what you're worried about?"

– "Yes... So that means you also..."

– "I think, people like you put a bit too much stock in feeling. Only the ones you decide to act on are really important."

– "Is that so?"

Certainly, emotions were necessary. Youkai would not exist if not for the manifestation of emotions. In the physicist's mind, the sin she had committed was not the emotion she felt but her lack of control over it. Her envy of her partner's eyes was nothing new, and was rather something she wanted to use to grow closer.

– "That's right... I'll act on yours, too. Next time, I'll be sure to protect Merry no matter what! So don't worry about it!"

Renko's carefree smile was contagious.

– "Hmhm. Then I suppose we're both forgiven. No need to turn into demons."

Though her fear was genuine, there was no wish in Merry's heart to stop their club activities. Rather than negative emotions being sealed beneath the surface, they would come to the conclusion that it was best to use them as motivation.

– "Speaking of which... the bridge princess is so caught up in her feelings, but maybe if she put some effort into being friendly to people, she wouldn't be so lonely!"

Merry glanced nervously back toward the shrine behind them.

– "That's a bridge too far. Please don't provoke her more than necessary. I think just being there was enough to set her off."

– "You know what? That was definitely it!"

– "What was it?"

– "She didn't show up to me alone, but she showed up because we were there together."

– "I see. So that was what triggered her jealousy."

– "After all, anyone would be jealous of what a great pair we are. We're the two-for-one Secret Sealing Club!"

As sunrise drew closer, the faraway voice of a bird began to sing for them.

– "So... do you want to go back sometime?"

Merry narrowed her eyes and squeezed Renko's hand with a force measurable somewhere between affection and chastisement.

– "We can talk about that later."


End file.
